Heather Melrose, PhD, received her BSc degree in pharmacology from the University of Sunderland, United Kingdom and then worked at Pfizer as an associate scientist performing safety pharmacology for candidate drugs. She obtained her PhD from the University of Newcastle, United Kingdom in a joint program with Mayo Clinic, characterizing pre-clinical models of tauopathy with Dr. Mike Hutton. She then received post-doctoral training at Pfizer working on the therapeutics of neuropathic pain. In 2005 she joined Dr. Matthew Farrer’s lab at Mayo Clinic Florida as a senior post-doctoral fellow. She has made original observations on LRRK2 gene and protein expression and more recently has published her findings in LRRK2 BAC and LRRK2 knockout models. In 2010, Dr. Melrose, who is currently an assistant professor, began an independent program at Mayo Clinic. She continues to focus on in vivo models of Parkinson’s disease, with a particular interest in understanding the early mechanisms that contribute to dopaminergic neuron demise.